Ugly Sweaters and Hot Chocolate
by Mangoesaregood8
Summary: Joseph convinces Sebastian to go to a holiday office party, but going to the party brings up memories of the past that Sebastian isn't ready to deal with.


"Joseph, this is the ugliest goddamn sweater I've ever seen in my life," Sebastian complained as he looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a green Christmas sweater with the words, "I'm here for the eggnog," in red across the front.  
"That's the point, Sebastian. It's an ugly sweater party. You don't want to be the only one not in a sweater, do you?" Joseph asked as he joined Sebastian in the bathroom. He was wearing a red sweater with dancing snowmen all over it.  
"You know Connelly isn't going to wear one. Besides, I had to buy this sweater so I could go to this party in the first place."  
Joseph took off his glasses so he could clean them. "Then wouldn't it make sense to go since you already bought the sweater?"  
"You're the one who made me buy the damn sweater!"  
"Lighten up Sebastian. Would it kill you to be a little festive?"  
Sebastian sighed but said nothing else.  
Joseph grabbed his toothbrush and started brushing his teeth.  
"You brushed your teeth before we left the office today. Do you really need to brush them again?" Sebastian asked. He moved away from the sink to give Joseph more room and leaned against the door frame.  
"It never hurts to practice oral hygiene, and I was just eating. I wouldn't want to go to a party with food in my teeth, would I?"  
"No, I guess not." Sebastian watched Joseph for a moment before standing up straight. "While you finish getting ready, I'm going to grab something from the kitchen."  
Joseph nodded in response.  
Sebastian left Joseph to his teeth brushing while he went to the kitchen. He knelt down in front of the cabinets and grabbed his favorite bottle of whiskey. It was a large bottle that Myra had gotten him years ago. He would only drink in on special occasions or holidays.  
He drank the remains of what was in his flask before refilling it with the whiskey and putting the flask back in his pocket.  
"You ready to go?" Joseph asked from the doorway of the kitchen.  
"What the hell?" Sebastian jumped, nearly dropping the bottle he was holding. "You wanna walk a little louder next time Joseph?"  
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."  
Sebastian shook his head and put away the bottle. "Let's just get going before you really give me a heart attack."  
"That's fine with me. Do you want me to drive?" Joseph asked.  
"Sure." Sebastian moved the the door and grabbed his trench coat.  
"Really Seb? You're already wearing a sweater."  
"So?" Sebastian asked as he shrugged on his coat.  
"It's not that cold out. Aren't you going to get hot?"  
"If I get hot then I'll just take it off. I can always leave it in my office."  
Joseph fished his keys out of his pocked and headed out the door. "Wouldn't it be better just to leave it at home then?"  
Sebastian quirked a brow and Joseph shook his head. "Never mind then. Let's just get going," Joseph said.  
Sebastian followed Joseph out of the house and closed and locked the doors behind them before climbing into passenger seat of Joseph's car. Joseph had asked him earlier if he could get ready at Sebastian's house since it was closer than Joseph's.  
Joseph climbed into the driver's seat and drove them back to their office.  
Sebastian fiddled around with the radio as Joseph drove until he found something that he liked.  
Joseph made a face. "Country music? Can't we at least listen to Christmas music. We are going to a Christmas party."  
"Never have been a fan of Christmas music."  
"There has to be at least one song that you like. There's a lot of Christmas music out there. Maybe you'll find one you like if we listen to a Christmas station?"  
Sebastian turned the music up a bit louder.  
Joseph sighed and turned his focus back to driving. "Or not..."  
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the station, and Joseph pulled into Sebastian's usual spot.  
"Hey Seb? Before we go in..." Joseph had turned the car off once he parked, but hadn't moved to get out yet.  
"Yeah? What is it?"  
"Do you think you could do me a favor?"  
"I promise I won't spike the eggnog this year. No matter how much better whiskey makes it taste."  
Joseph gave him a look. "That's not what I was going to ask, but thank you anyways."  
"Then what were you going to ask me?"  
"Just... go easy on the drinking, alright? I don't want to have to break up any fights or drag you home. And I don't want to clean your vomit out of my car."  
Sebastian frowned. "I've never thrown up in your car before."  
"Yes you have," Joseph countered.  
"When was the last time?"  
"It was two months ago, Seb."  
"Oh..."  
"I'm not saying that you can't drink. I'm just asking you to go easy tonight."  
"Fine. I won't over do it."  
"Thanks Seb." Joseph put his keys in his pocket and got out of the car.  
Sebastian followed him out of the car and into the office.  
The office was decorated for the party. There were snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and lots of colorful lights draped around every possible surface. There were a few people meandering about, socializing, drinking, and enjoying the jazzy holiday music that was playing in the background. The desks that usually sat in the middle of the room had been pushed against the wall so that room could be made for tables. The tables were covered with red and green table cloths. One held different snacks, and the other assorted drinks, and two bowls. One for punch, and one for eggnog.  
Sebastian made a beeline straight for eggnog.  
Kidman cut him off before he could reach it. "Really Sebastian? You're not even going to go around and say hello first?" She was wearing an over sized blue sweater that was covered with kittens in elf outfits and a red Santa hat.  
"Damn Kid. I thought my sweater was bad. I guess I was wrong."  
She rolled her eyes. "It's an ugly sweater party. This is he ugliest sweater I own. I don't usually wear it out of the house," she said.  
"Good. I don't think you want to be seen out in public in that."  
"Enough about my sweater," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Let's see yours."  
Sebastian took off his trench coat so Kidman could see.  
"Well, at least it's accurate."  
"That's what Joseph said when I bought it."  
"What I said when you bought what?" Joseph asked as he walked up from behind Sebastian.  
"When you made me get this damn sweater," Sebastian replied.  
"You have to admit that it does suit you. You're not much of a party person," Joseph said.  
Kidman chuckled. "You're not going to be a scrooge the entire time, are you Sebastian?"  
"No, not the entire time."  
"Good. Then you won't mind me doing this." Kidman swiped the hat she was wearing off of her head and plopped it down on Sebastian's.  
Sebastian winced as the pom pom hit him in the face. "Hey! Watch where you're swinging that."  
"Sorry. Had to get it on you before you moved away," Kidman said.  
Joseph snickered. "It reminds me of the time you had us dress up as Santa and an elf. I'll never forgot that."  
"Yeah I remember that. It was for Lily's class, the day before they went on Christmas break."  
"Yeah..." Joseph was quiet. He still wasn't sure how much Sebastian could talk about his family before getting too upset.  
"I'm going to grab a drink. I'll meet you in the corner over there," Sebastian said. "I'll see you around Kid." He patted Kidman on the shoulder and went to the table to grab some eggnog.  
Joseph and Kidman watched him go.  
"Is he going to be okay?" Kidman asked.  
"I don't know. I'll go check on him. See you later Kidman." Jospeh also patted her on the shoulder before following Sebastian to his chosen corner.  
Sebastian was leaning against the wall as he sipped at his eggnog and stared down at the people on the street below.  
"Listen, Sebastian, I didn't mean to make you upset-"  
"It's fine Joseph." Sebastian voice was just above a whisper. He cleared his throat. "I'm just still getting used to spending the holidays with out them. That's all."  
"I'm sorry," Joseph apologized.  
"It's not your fault, Joseph."  
"I know... But I feel bad for bringing them up."  
Sebastian stayed silent.  
Joseph placed his hand on his partner's shoulder and rubbed it gently.  
"At least I don't have to worry as much about buying and wrapping presents," Sebastian said.  
"That's true."  
"It will be different not being woken up by Lily bouncing on me so she can see what Santa brought her. Myra and I used to take her down together so we could see her reaction when she saw what 'Santa' brought her."  
"That's adorable. Did you ever film her?"  
"A few times we did. Mostly when she was older," Sebastian said.  
"Hm..."  
Both men stayed silent for a while, slowly sipping at their drinks. Sebastian pulled out his flask and took a few swigs from it before putting it back in his pocket.  
"I know it's not the same, but if you're feeling lonely, you could spend the holidays with me," Joseph said.  
"What about your parents? Don't they usually come down and visit you?"  
"Normally they do, but this year they're staying in Canada. My dad's been busy with work and can't stay for long, and my mom doesn't want to travel down here by herself."  
"You're sure you don't mind me staying with you?" Sebastian asked.  
"If I minded, I wouldn't have asked in the first place."  
"Thanks Joseph." The corners of Sebastian's lips turned up in an attempt of a smile."  
"Any time, Seb." Joseph continued rubbing Sebastian's shoulder, hoping the action was comforting the other.  
The men stayed silent, listening to a rock rendition of carol of the bells.  
Joseph was the first to break the silence. "Do you want to walk around for a bit and see who's here?"  
Sebastian shook his head, continuing to stare out the window. "Not really. The only people I really talk to around here are you, Kidman, and Connelly, and I haven't seen him yet."  
"Do you want to grab something to eat? It looked like they had some nice food over there," Joseph suggested. He didn't want Sebastian drinking and staring out the window all night.  
"I'm not that hungry."  
"Maybe a drink then?"  
Sebastian made a face. "We both already have a drink."  
"Oh... Right." Joseph bit his lip. He was running out of ideas. Unless...  
"You know, we've been standing under mistletoe, right?" He asked.  
"What?" Sebastian looked up. Sure enough, there was a sprig of mistletoe hung up above their heads.  
"You know what that means?"  
Sebastian shook his head. "I'm not kissing you."  
Joseph chuckled. At least this got his attention. "It doesn't have to be on the lips. Just a friendly kiss on the cheek."  
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Damn mistletoe..." He leaned down to peck Joseph on the cheek.  
"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it?"  
Sebastian replied by taking a few sips of his eggnog.  
"If you don't want to stay much longer, we can leave. I don't want to make you stay if you're going to sit in the corner all night," Joseph said. "That's not much fun."  
Sebastian finished his drink. "I wouldn't mind leaving soon."  
"I know it's not that cold outside, but if you're up for it, we could make some hot chocolate when we get back to your house. If you have hot chocolate," Joseph suggested.  
"We'd have to pick some up on the way home, but I'd like that," Sebastian said with a small smile.  
"Alright. We'll stop by the grocery store before we go back."  
"Do you think we could pick up some marshmallows too?" Sebastian asked.  
"The little ones, right?"  
Sebastian nodded.  
"Of course we can." Joseph smiled, glad that he was able to distract Sebastian and help him feel a bit better.  
"And can I take off this damn sweater?"  
Joseph chuckled. "As soon as we're in the car, you can take off the sweater." He pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Are you ready to leave?"  
"Ready when you are."  
"Then let's go get that hot chocolate."  
Joseph lead Sebastian back to the car so they could pick up hot chocolate, and enjoy it in each other's company.


End file.
